Amaryllidaceae alkaloids: Absolute configuration and biological activity
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Author Spotlight: Discovering New Alkaloids in Plants with Advanced Mass Spectrometry Techniques
Published on: March 8, 2024
Alessio Cimmino1, Marco Masi1, Marco Evidente1
1Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario Monte S. Angelo, Napoli, Italy.
Abstract:
Plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family are well known for their ornamental and medicinal use. Plant members of this group are distributed through both tropical and subtropical regions of the world and are dominant in Andean South America, the Mediterranean basin, and southern Africa. Amaryllidaceae plants have been demonstrated to be a good source of alkaloids with a large spectrum of biological activities, the latter being strictly related to the absolute stereochemistry of the alkaloid scaffold. Among them, great importance for practical applications in medicine has galanthamine, which has already spawned an Alzheimer's prescription drug as a potent and selective inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Furthermore, lycorine as well as its related isocarbostyryl analogs narciclasine and pancratistatine have shown a strong anticancer activity in vitro against different solid tumors with malignant prognosis. This review addresses the assignment of the absolute configuration of several Amaryllidaceae alkaloids and its relationship with their biological activities.
Related Concept Videos
Adrenergic Agonists: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship
Aromatic ring substitutions: Substituting the aromatic ring with –OH groups at positions 3 and 4 yields catecholamines (e.g., epinephrine), which have a high affinity for adrenoceptors. Hydrogen bonding between –OH groups and receptors enhances adrenergic activity.
Separation of...
Physical Properties of Amines
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Pharmacokinetics
Amines: Introduction
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship
The direct-acting...
Basicity of Aromatic Amines

